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Alterations in cartilage type‐ii procollagen and aggrecan contents in synovial fluid in equine osteochondrosis
Author(s) -
Laverty S.,
Ionescu M.,
Marcoux M.,
Bouré L.,
Doizé B.,
Poole A. R.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
journal of orthopaedic research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.041
H-Index - 155
eISSN - 1554-527X
pISSN - 0736-0266
DOI - 10.1002/jor.1100180311
Subject(s) - aggrecan , osteochondrosis , keratan sulfate , cartilage , osteoarthritis , synovial fluid , type ii collagen , medicine , pathology , proteoglycan , chemistry , anatomy , articular cartilage , alternative medicine
The etiology and pathophysiology of osteochondrosis remain poorly understood because it is difficult to obtain material from lesions in the early stage of this disease and because there is no satisfactory experimental animal model. We wished to determine whether there are changes in articular cartilage turnover in equine osteochondrosis, which closely resembles the human disease, by assaying cartilage matrix molecules in synovial fluids. We used immunoassays that measure a keratan sulfate epitope and the epitope 846 on the cartilage proteoglycan aggrecan and the C‐propeptide of cartilage type‐II procollagen, which is released following the synthesis of this molecule, to analyse synovial fluids from equine tarsocrural joints with and without osteochondrosis. In young horses with osteochondrosis, there was a significant increase of C‐propeptide of type‐II procollagen accompanied by a decrease in the 846 and keratan sulfate epitopes. The results identify differential alterations in aggrecan and type‐II collagen turnover in the cartilage matrix in young animals with osteochondrosis that may contribute to the pathological degeneration of articular cartilage in this disease.